Around the island…

No such thing as a bad hair day on the ferry when the warm breezes blow....that's the ferry making the Friday Harbor-Sidney run.

Let’s see what’s up, pup…..

• There’s another “Know Your Island Walk” this weekend – here’s the story from Eileen:

A rare look at Beaverton Marsh with both our San Juan Island Land Bank stewards, Eliza Habegger and Doug McCutchen!  This walk takes place this Saturday, June 25th, at 1:00pm.  Learn about this marshland; its history, and the work being done to restore it. Meet behind the Friday Harbor High School on Guard Sreet. Roundtrip, the walk is 2 miles.  Terrain is pasture and wetland/grassland with some uneven footing.  Rating is moderate. Please, no dogs.

The islands, and the areas around us....

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• Those maps! You’ve seen them around & always wanted one!

They’re satellite images of the area, and there are two of them – one of just the San Juans, and the other is of the surrounding Gulf area, including Victoria, Bellingham, Point Roberts, and so on….

They are available in several places around the island (hope I don’t forget anyone): Griffin Bay Bookstore, Harbor Bookstore, San Juan Excursions, Crystal Seas Kayaking, Snug Harbor Resort, Roche Harbor Market, The Whale Museum, NakNek Charters, The Trading Company, Kings Marine (upstairs), Western Prince Whalewatching, and a few places on Orcas.

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• Did you see D+A Studio’s Anna Howden‘s post on her blog about a windmill (they’re calling it an Energy Ball Turbine) for generating power at your own home – all you need is a 4mph or better wind. Here’s the story…

She also wrote up the cool things about her choice for green building of the week, last week…including & starting with the problem of sprawl. Check it out on her blog.

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• There’s an election coming up in August to raise the levy for the Library, and there will be a series of presentations to inform folks what this is all about. The first is today (Tuesday) at 5:30pm at the Legion, and you can check the Islanders for the SJ Library’s Facebook group page here.

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• Remember yesterday Helen Wallace mentioned she’d lost a prayer book? She checked in to say it’s been found, and thank you!

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• Got mail going to Canada?

My friend Kevin reports the US won’t be shipping mail to our northerly neighbour during the current rotating strike & lockout – here’s more from Friday’s Seattle P-I.

It's coming along, at Pelindaba

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• Amelia at Pelindaba Lavender Farm says re-construction after the fire two years ago continues – here’s more.

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• Tonight (Tuesday) at the Rumor Mill – it’s Jim Basnight!

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• It’s the Illg Lecture – here’s this year’s (Tuesday night!) with details from the director of the Friday Harbor Marine Labs, Ken Sebens:

Sheila Patek

The Paul Illg Distinguished Lectureship will present another outstanding speaker in 2011. I am pleased to announce the 13th annual Illg Lecturer will be Dr. Sheila Patek who is an assistant professor in the Department of Biology at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

She received her A.B. with honors in Biology from Harvard University followed by a Ph.D. in Biology from Duke University. She was then awarded a Miller Postdoctoral Fellowship at UC Berkeley. She has received several honors, including the George A. Bartholomew Award for distinguished contributions to comparative physiology and the Brilliant 10 award from Popular Science magazine. Her research has been funded by the National Science Foundation, Hellman Family Foundation and the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Studies.

Public Lecture: On Tuesday evening, June 21 at 7:00 p.m. at the San Juan Community Theater, Dr. Patek will present a talk entitled, “Evolutionary mechanics of movement and communication in the sea.”

Dr. Patek offered the following description of her work:
“From mantis shrimp hammers to spiny lobster violins, the same underlying principles guide the interplay between evolutionary variation and the rules of physics. Sheila Patek’s research program focuses on the biomechanics, behavior and evolution of fast movements and underwater acoustics. For example, derived from a single mechanical system, the mantis shrimp’s (Stomatopoda) fast predatory appendages have diversified across hundreds of species into tools ranging from hammers to hatchets.

“This morphological and functional diversity provides a rich dataset to examine how the mechanism has been modified to perform these functions and to analyze the historical pathways of these changes. In another focal system, the spiny lobster’s (Palinuridae) sound-producing mechanism also exhibits considerable evolutionary variation, from the scale of frictional surface properties to the overall size of the component parts. Patek’s research probes the evolutionary correlations between morphological and acoustic variation and examines the role of stick-slip friction in the diversification of this system. Through the integration of biomechanical analyses and phylogenetic comparative approaches, these systems offer new insights into the fascinating mechanics of extreme predatory movements and acoustic defenses in the marine environment.”

This endowed lecture series is presented in honor of Professor Paul L. Illg, who made many important contributions as a scientist, teacher, mentor, and friend. Paul excelled as a faculty member of the UW Zoology Department from 1952 – 1982. An expert in the biology of crustaceans, he participated in many summer sessions at Friday Harbor Laboratories. He invited world-renowned scholars to FHL to join him in teaching invertebrate biology and thus greatly enhanced the quality of the graduate program and research at the Laboratories. The lectureship endowment was established through memorial gifts from Paul’s family, friends and colleagues. We thank you for supporting this series of world-class lectures.

Sincerely,
Dr. Kenneth P. Sebens
Director, Friday Harbor Laboratories
Professor of Biology

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